A Whiff of Spring

With an ice storm last Friday and another coming soon, I couldn’t resist the dazzling yellow daffodils at the grocery; a bunch was only $1.69!  They store them, the sign said, “dry” so that they don’t pop open until the customer is ready.  This made it a lot more convenient to carry them throughout our many errands.  I bought them on Saturday but didn’t put them in water until Sunday afternoon; they were beginning to open but most buds were tight.  By bedtime they were all fully open!  Water, just water brought them to life.

The fragrance is heady as I type a few feet from the glowing trumpeters of spring.   Despite the grey skies and cold temperatures, in here it is spring.

Party Worthy

A fellow art student fascinated me with the story of the Night Blooming Cereus given to her by a friend who inherited it from her mother. The plant was so valuable her friend said that in case of fire, it would be grabbed to go. It had, I was told, a wonderful short-lived flower with a glorious fragrance.

While looking through some of my old photos for something “new” to paint, I was elated to find a picture of my California aunt’s Night Blooming Cereus.

When I exhibited the resulting painting another artist gifted me with a cutting from her special plant. When her Night Blooming Cereus blooms, she throws a party so her friends can enjoy the fragrance with her!

I’ve been growing the cutting in the same little pot for about twelve years; it hasn’t grown very much though it’s happiest in its current space. More sun and more water seem to suit it well. I’ve been hesitant to repot it since I had heard somewhere along the way that they need to be pot bound in order to bloom; I’m always hopeful. However, I think this year is its time to spread out—and maybe get it some fertilizer.

*Oil Painting Night Blooming Cereus

Flawed Beauty

Once in a while, I get to visit a public garden and see wondrous things. For many years I snapped hundreds of photos in these gardens for painting references. If I photographed flowers such as these orchids I found at a university greenhouse, my painting would ignore the blemishes and “paint them out.” However, I captured this image of formerly white cattleya orchids because of their blemishes; though they’ve been damaged either by drops of something falling on them or (more likely) aging, they still had a lovely fragrance. In fact, it was their heady fragrance that first drew me. I was intrigued that such a wonderful scent could be produced by such a flawed beauty and saw a parable.

It’s a great temptation to judge people by their appearances—or lack thereof but there’s a lot more to people than the way they look. Though as an artist, I find the visual the most interesting, I’m glad God didn’t stop there.

It’s been a cool, crisp morning filled with bird symphonies. One bird sang, “Figaro, figaro, figaro!”

Mystery Fragrance

This morning as I rearranged a couple of my plants to their better advantage—and mine, a lovely fragrance attracted me. Where was it coming from? Not the scant honeysuckle on the back fence; I know that scent. It was right there in front of me, under my nose—literally; the Angelonia Angel Face exuded a new dimension of beauty. I don’t know why I haven’t noticed it before; were the purple flowers making this perfume before now? Or did I have to get down on my knees for it to reach me?

The hummingbird flitted in mid-morning to sip from the orange Million Bells. Two Red Hibiscus are blooming today as are hyacinth bean vines, Angelonia, the Victoria Blue’s, pentas, and earlier—a few four O’clocks.

Though the temperatures have been in the upper 80’s and low to mid-90’s, the drier air makes being outdoors delightful, especially when there’s a warm gentle breeze. I could have stayed…

A Change in the Air

Today is one of those “golden” days when the temperature is cooler and a light breeze stirs. The slant of the sun has changed ever so slightly and sunset paints its colors half an hour earlier. I could stay in the garden all day in this weather, especially if I had a computer that could operate outdoors!

And it’s a good thing since Monday always calls for extra attention to the garden after a weekend of only hurried watering. There are dead leaves to trim and spent flowers to deadhead, vines to reroute. Often, as today, I have weekend plant purchases to repot; the garden centers’ small flimsy plastic pots cause the plants to dry out too quickly in my setting.

Happily, I finally found one of my all-time favorites, peppermint. I’ve been searching all season but all were either gangly or too expensive or both. Now, I finally have a nicely branching plant at a good price but after its sojourn in the dimly-lit parking garage entrance to Trader Joe’s, it’s stretching for every bit of sun it can get. To keep it branching, I think I need to make some tea. I grew up in “ice-tea” country and often enjoyed a sprig of mint in a tall glass but a brief trip to North Africa intrigued me with hot mint tea. Either way, I enjoy it’s fragrance as I brush against it so I put it within easy reach My iced tea sprigs often do double duty; when the tea is gone I often put the mint in a flower arrangement where it then roots and can later be planted—the ultimate “reuse”.

This particular peppermint plant doesn’t have a variety name but last year’s Kentucky Colonel Mint of “mint julep” fame proved too strong a flavor for my tastes, so I passed that one by.

I’ve seen no sign of the “giant” grasshopper since I last sent him flying. The birds like the weather too!